Display case



Septil, 1925 1,551,765

\ E. a NELSON ET AL DISPLAY CASE Filed dot. 19. 1922' 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Sept. 1. 1925 E. B. NELSON ET Al DISPLAY CASE Filed Oct. 19. 1922 2 Sheet-Sheet 2 alumna flow ryza affl .Alaozz Jazzzea wit-ma To all whom it may oncern Patented Sept. 1, 1925. v UNITED STATES PATENT ()FFICII.

l ERNEST B. NELSON AND JAMES 'I. FINDLAY, or ABILENE, KANSAS. or lE msrmycasn.

Application filed October 19, 1922. SerlalNo. 585,581; g

I p Figure 3 is a top plan View with the parts Be it known that we, ERNEST B. Nnnsor: ll) the positions s own 111 Fig. 2. and JAMES T. FINDLAY, citizens of the Figure 4 1s a longitudinal sectional view United States, residing at Abilene, in the with the parts in the positions shown in 60 provements county of Dickinson and State of Kansas, have invented certain new and useful Imin Display Cases; and we do declare the followin to be a full, clear, and exactdescription 01 the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and usethe same.

Our invention relates to improvements in cases for displaying numerous kinds of produce in grocery its ob'ect to provide a simple and inexpensive evice in which the container is normally closed tightly by a'cover which is movableto an inoperative position, simply by tilting the container in apredetermined manner.

More specifically speaking, we propose to provide a displa case which is plvotally mounted on a suitable support to permit it to be 'disposedin a forwardly and downwardly inclined are being displayed or to permit it to be tilted and inclined rearwardly and down wardl" when the contents are being remover, the cover serving to entirely close and remain in alocked state when the container is in the first named position and automatically swinging to a position to u cover-one end oi the container when it is in itsdischarging position.

A further object is to pivot a plate in one end of the container fold into the latter laying information relating to its contents, nt ma beswun outwardly to extend above t ."e end wal of the container when the latter is tilted in one direction, thereby preventing the contents fromrunning over said end wall as they slide downwardly towards the same. 4

'With the foregoing in view, the invention resides in thh novel subject-matter hereinafter described and claimed, the description being supplemented by the accompanying drawing,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a display device constructed in accordance with my invention.

Figure 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1 showing the manner in which the cover and coner slide relatively when the latter is tilted.

and other stores and has for position when its contents so that it may normally for the purpose of dis Figure. 5 is a'longit'udinal sectional View use of a container 1 which is pivoted be tween its ends on a horizontal axis and we provide a cover 2 for the container 1 which rests slidably upon the same, said cover being pivoted, ,on an axis parallel with and spaced above the pivot 0 the container 1, to a suitable part; which is stationary with respect to the cover and container. By this arrangement, when the container is tilted from the position at which it is completely closed by the cover 2, this cover will slide uponthe container to an open position, as will be clear by reference to Figs. 2 and In the preferred form of construction, we mount the container and its cover between a pair of vertical standards 3 which may Well rise from a pair of horizontal plates 4 adapted to rest upon a floor, store counter, or other suitable support. A rod 5 extends horizontally between the lower ends of the standards 3 and the lower side of the con tainer 1 which is of elongated form, is provided with a pair of downwardly opening bearing seats 6. This arrangement eilectively supportsjthe container 1 pivotally and permits said container to be readily removed for cleaning purposes.

The cover 2 preferably consists of a glass plate held within an appropriate frame 7 which rests upon the upper edge of the container 1, the two parallel sides and one end of this frame being pi'ovidedwith depending n to expose the conflanges 8 which engage the outer side of the container to form a tight connection.""lhe I other end of the frame is not provided with a flange, in view of the fact that it must slide inwardly upon the container.

The sides of the frame are provided near one end, in the present showing, with upstanding ears fi which are pivoted to the upper ends of the standards 3 by rivets or the like 10. The space between the pivots sary to tilt the container 10 and the pivot rod 5, is such as to hold the cover 2 in tight contact with the'coii taincr 1 when these ports are tilted to the limit in one direction, as shown in Figs. 1 and i. W hen the device is in this position, its contents may readily be viewed through the glass cover 2 and whenever any of these contents are to be removed, it is simply necesin the opposite direction as seen in ig. 5, for which purpose it may well be provided with a suitable handie 11. Tilting in this manner, causes relative sliding of the containerend cover so that the letter is moved to an open position es disclosed in Fig. 5.

it is obvious from the foregoing description that we have evolved and produced an extremely practical and. advantageous display case, due mainly to the fact that custozners standing in front of the case will not be permitted to lii't the cover and insert their hands into the container for removing any of the contents. Hence, the articles within the container cannot be soiled from this source, nor can the cover be left accidentally open while in display to permit the :iccumnlm tion of dirt within the container. Consequently, the improved structure is exceedingly sanitary. On the other hand, as soon as the container is tilted rearwardly, the then lower end of the cover will antoniatical- 'ly uncover the corresponding end of the container to permit access to be had to the interior. V

Piveted within one end of the container 1, is a plate 19. which is normally "folded into the container ben ith its glass cm or 2 as shown in Fig. l, inwhich position it may well display the pri of the contents of the container or other nt'orination relating thereto. When the container is tilted to the open position disclosed in Fi 5, the plate 15:. is swung upwardly to extend above the memes end of said container, thereby preventing the contents from rolling over this end as they slide towards the same.

Any number of the devices may be placed side by side will be clear by reference to Fig. 0, in which the numeral 3 designates an additional standard spaced from one of the standards 3. The dotted lines 5 in this figure slow that the pivot rod 5 may be extended to support any desired number of the containers.

i Excellent results may be obtained from the details disclosed, and hence they may be followed if desired. However, within the scope of the invention. as claimed, numerous minor changes may be made and it will be understood that While I prefer to provide my invention with a, transparent cover for display purposes, a cover of any other desired form may be used.

What is claimed is: A device of the class described comprising;

a sg ipport, an open top container pivoted belo.' its top and between its ends to said support to swing from a forwardly inclined display position to a rearwardly inclined discharge position, and a cover slida-ble upon the open top'ot said container and pivoted to said support at a point above the pivot of said container, the pivot of said cover being, closer to the rear end thereof than the pivot of said container is to the rear end of said container so that said cover will be closed while said container is in its forwardly inclined display position but will slide so as to uncover the rear end portion of said container when the latter is swungto its rearwardly inclined dischar e position.

In testimony whereo aliixed our signatures.

ERNEST B. NELSON. JAMES 'l. FI NDLAY.

V8 have llOlGlllllO 

